Good Girl Gone Bad
by brittanythestoryteller
Summary: Krystal Weedon has passed away, which seems to be the end of her story. Yet Krystal finds that death is not the end, and is reunited with those she loved the most. A brief one-shot. Rated T for language.


Krystal Weedon had never given much thought to what the afterlife might be like. There had been too much going on in her current life to spare time for such pondering. Even when she had found that man dead, much in the way Krystal herself must have been found on that terrible day, she had not wondered even for a moment whether the unknown man would now be at peace.

Now that Krystal had taken herself away from her deteriorating life, from the bloody Fields and Obbo and fucking Fats Wall, she felt oddly at peace. She was standing in a small garden; it was not filthy and unkempt like the one Terri had constantly looked out into from the window. Then, it came to her, quick and sudden. The garden was, or had been, Nana Cath's.

Light footsteps told the teenager that she was no longer alone. She whirled around, expecting someone unpleasant had invaded one of her favorite spots. Excitement flew through her and her eyes lit up as Mr. Fairbrother approached.

"Krys," he greeted her in the same cheerful tone, yet with a hint of sadness, she'd missed so dearly. "I didn't expect to see you here so soon."

"Couldn' fuckin' do it, Mist' Fairbrother," she admitted in a half-sob. "Robbie's gone an' it were my fault." She placed her face in her hands, shielding her tears.

Krystal felt a gentle arm placed around her and resisted the urge to jump. There was so much she wanted to tell him, so many apologies to make. She had not forgotten about what she and Fats had done just feet from that grave.

"Have yeh bin watchin' us from up here?" Krystal could not resist asking. She had to know if he had seen how Robbie had drowned in the river while she and Fats were in the bushes...

"I can only see one person at a time, Krys," answered Mr. Fairbrother. "Not for that long, either. From what I've gathered so far, my wife is not that happy with me, but not unhappy enough to accept Gavin, and Minda lost her temper and Miles won my seat. I could have predicted almost all of those events taking place."

He took a step towards her. Krystal had no idea who this Gavin person was or why he was telling her about that Parish Council election that was probably going to shut down Belchappel. She looked at him with an eyebrow raised, in the way she always used to when he rambled on about the many friends and stories he had and she wanted him to get to the best part.

Mr. Fairbrother smiled grimly and sat down on a bench that had been deteriorating in the garden for years. Krystal inhaled deeply when she saw that the bench was perfect, pearly white and looked as if it had just been purchased yesterday. She sat down, still in awe.

"I watched you quite a lot, Krys," he informed her. "I saw you do many good things: you visited your Nana in South General, you took Robbie away from Terri and that awful man in your house, and you were most of the reason that the social workers decided to let him stay with you. I'm very impressed, Krys."

Krystal could not hold in her sorrow any longer. She burst out into loud, squawk-like wails with her hands once again shielding her face. It was all her fault. If she'd been with Robbie, he'd never have drowned. She may have taken him away, but it had ultimately led him to his death.

"Krys, shh," Mr. Fairbrother attempted to soothe her. "Please, Krys, listen to me. I know you're devastated about what happened by the river. I am very sorry that Sukhvinder could not save Robbie in time. But, if you'd like, I think you'd-"

"Wha'? Yeh sed tha' the Jawanda girl tried savin' 'im?"

Mr. Fairbrother nodded. "Yes. Sukhvinder dove into the river after Robbie, but by the time she had gotten to him there was no hope. She said that she'd called for you before she dove in the water. Apparently there was something sharp in the river's bottom that injured her leg, but she still swam all the way out to get him."

Krystal was truly moved. After she, Nikki, Leanne and the others had shouted at her for her mother's (supposed, now that she really reflected upon Danielle and Cheryl's claims) murder of Nana Cath. After Dane Tully had made grunting noises at her in the English class they shared. After all that Krystal had done, not realizing she was hurting Sukhvinder, the girl had risked her own life to save Robbie's. She wished it wasn't too late to make it up to her.

"I wish I could thank her," Krystal whispered. "She tried to save 'im. I miss 'im bad, Mist' Fairbrother." Her eyes blurred from tears that spilled down her cheeks when she blinked.

"Would you like to see him, Krystal?" Mr. Fairbrother asked her. When she looked up, eyes wide with surprise, he smiled. "He's here too, of course. I know that he wants to see you."

"Yeah," said Krystal eagerly. "I wanna see 'im."

As if on cue, little Robbie Weedon came running towards his sister. "Krystal!" Robbie shrieked with joy as he jumped into Krystal's arms.

"Robbie, oh Robbie!" Krystal had not felt this happy since she and the rest of the Rowing Eight had won their tournament. "I'm so sorry I left yeh, I never shoulda left you alone. I'm so sorry." She began to cry again as she held the little boy tightly, afraid of letting him go in case he was taken from her once more.

"I love yeh, Krystal," Robbie told her. One of his tiny hands wiped tears from her face as he grinned up at her. "Don' be sad."

"Yer right, I won' be sad anymore, all righ'? We're t'gether now, forever."

"I'm so proud of you, Krys," Mr. Fairbrother said. He put a hand on Krystal's shoulder while she continued to embrace Robbie. "You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened. I know what it's like to come from the Fields. You are such a strong young woman, dealt so much at such a young age."

"Thanks, Mist' Fairbrother," Krystal said earnestly. He had been so good to her in life, and now in death he still cared about her. She realized how much she had missed him when he passed away, how lost she had been. When her mentor began walking away, she called his name again, startled. "Where yeh goin'?"

"Oh, I'll be back, don't worry," he replied. "You'll find there are many others around here; lots of people to talk to. I think you'll like it here; Robbie seemed to be enjoying himself before I brought him here to wait for you to arrive. I'll see you around, Krys." With that, Barry Fairbrother turned and walked away. Krystal watched him until he was almost out of sight before turning back to her brother.

"No one can take yeh away from me now," Krystal told him. She ran one hand through his hair, which still smelled of the shampoo she'd used in his last bath. It seemed like an eternity ago. "We'll always be t'gether, Robbie. I promise I won' ever leave yeh again."

Robbie smiled and hugged her tighter. Krystal could not help but feel relieved that she was reunited with the two people she cared for the most, and she could spend forever here with them. Sooner or later, others she knew would join them, and she would be able to greet them as a happy and unburdened girl instead of the foul-mouthed, abrasive girl they had known in life. There were no Obbos here to hurt her or scare Robbie. As much as it hurt Krystal to know that Terri was alone now, free to use as much as she wanted to without fear of her last two children being taken, she was also relieved she no longer had to wonder whether Robbie would be taken from them every day. With a jolt of excitement, she realized she would be able to see Nana Cath again and properly introduce her to Robbie.

As she thought about her reunion with Nana Cath, she began to hum the beat to the song that had meant so much to her and the Rowing Eight; that team had been the only place outside the Fields where Krystal truly felt she fit in. As Robbie watched her from within her arms, she began to rap the beginning as she always had.

_Good girl gone bad -_  
_Take three -_  
_Action._  
_No clouds in my storms..._  
_Let it rain, I hydroplane into fame_  
_Comin' down with the Dow Jones..._

As she began to sing, she took Robbie's hand and walked in the direction Mr. Fairbrother had taken. She hoped it would not be too hard to find Nana Cath. Both she and Robbie were grinning ear-to-ear.

Krystal Weedon no longer felt the burdens that had felt so heavy during her life. She was finally at peace.


End file.
